NOVEL NEXT Chapter 70
<70 - Heir of the Archer Skola vs. The Mighty Archer Oknodie>
The intense vroom of the mob affected even the two leaders racing ahead.
‘Those guys are closing in faster and faster!’
‘No way! What on earth do I have to do to be caught at such a speed?!’
A mad dash made possible by a man who gave up everything, and the genuine sprint of Oknodie, who was deeply moved by it, created a relentless chase.
With each track they crossed, the gap narrowed, and both Skola and Liv felt the growing urge to look back.
“Don’t look back!”
“Aren’t you curious, Skola?”
“It’s already hard enough running without looking ahead!”
As Oknodie went back to save her comrade, Skola thought.
Saving comrades left behind on the battlefield was a reckless act that could jeopardize one’s own safety.
Thus, she made a firm decision. Even if she realized her mistake late and abandoned her comrade to run alone, she wouldn’t allow even second place for such a foolish person.
Liv, influenced by Skola’s advice, struggled to suppress her anxiety.
‘The heir of the archer is adjusting to my pace. They must be counting on me!’
Among the students of Class 981, there isn’t a single person who can shoot better than Skola.
No one can deny that fact.
For this reason, Skola’s advice resonated deeply during this [Ranged Weapon Mastery] lecture.
Academy’s number one.
The top talent looks out for herself.
That means they expect her to be in second place.
The top of Group A.
She could surpass even the youngest genius Oknodie, who has outdone the impressive border nobles!
[Course 3]
[Cliff Climbing]
A steep cliff, close to a 90-degree angle.
Everywhere, there are protruding footholds and grips for hands.
A course lined with ropes that descend from above and safety equipment that can be properly fitted to the body.
There are a few targets that can be shot from below, but some are positioned in such excruciating spots that they can only be hit from way up high.
“If it’s too much, use the safety harness!”
Skola said this while swiftly darting up the cliff, hanging neatly and agilely.
Whoosh, whoosh!
For an archer, agility is one of the essential attributes.
It’s just as essential to have the grip strength to hold on even when all one’s weight is hanging on a tiny ledge.
Her heart said: “I want to run up like that too.”
But her head said: “No way you can do that.”
‘Dammit, they overexerted themselves to chase me!’
Liv stubbornly pushed herself.
Without a safety harness, she forced her hands onto a protruding rock and quickly climbed up the cliff.
She didn’t tie the rope around her waist or attach the safety gear; she went bare-handed.
Bam bam!
Yet she felt it.
The overwhelming heat surging next to her, like being chased by a giant as big as 230cm, created an intense pressure.
Despite telling herself not to look back, her head couldn’t stop glancing towards Oknodie’s line.
In that instant, Oknodie surged upwards.
She knew at once.
‘There’s no way I can win.’
She realized she couldn’t possibly defeat her.
In the face of her talent’s limits, Liv’s hands froze.
The dream of claiming second place in the group competition slipped out of reach.
*
Liv fell back to third place in the team competition.
She gave up.
On opposing someone who was outpacing her.
But Oknodie was different.
Pursuing Skola, who was climbing the cliff, at a frightful speed.
‘Gah, if only my arms were a little longer!’
Yet the gap did not close.
Instead, it widened little by little.
Due to the height difference, Oknodie, whose limbs were all long but shorter than Skola’s, inevitably created that distance.
“Ooooh!”
“Line 5 is doing well!”
“Line 1, don’t get caught!”
“Chase them down, Line 5!”
She erased all of the seniors’ shouts from her mind.
The reason she was running now wasn’t for the seniors’ point betting.
It was to repay the fiery determination of a man who wished for his comrades to advance.
Oknodie, whose body was muscular and towered excessively, admired this passionate spirit more than anyone.
‘Though my body is small, my heart is larger than anyone else’s!’
As soon as she reached the top of the cliff, Skola swiftly turned her body and released five consecutive shots.
[Line 1, Course 3 cleared!]
[Line 5, Course 3 cleared! +0.08.61]
Just eight seconds later, Oknodie, who managed to climb, nocked an arrow.
There were no visible targets in her sight.
No conveniently automatic magic arrows.
Using every bit of knowledge and trained instinct, she loaded and fired each shot one by one.
[Conquered Course 3 in one continuous motion.]
[Boldness Experience +10]
[Climbing Experience +5]
[Terrain Recognition Experience +2]
[Hit all targets in Course 3.]
[Rapid Shooting Experience +3]
[Concentration Experience +3]
The time stretched further apart, but as she glanced at the next Course 4, she couldn’t help but chuckle.
[Course 4]
[Lift Action]
A downward lift slanting sharply from the cliff’s top to the forest below.
The ropes connected to the vehicle formed a shocking vertical bar with no foothold, forcing one to hang on with their hands.
Of course, you need your hands to shoot arrows.
This lift boldly posed a challenge.
Could you shoot a target while hanging on without using your hands?
If you’re unsure, just hanging there and going along is just fine.
“Yah!”
With a quick leap, as she grasped the bar, a clunking clunk began the operations of Line 5’s descending lift.
[You hung on the descending lift without a moment’s hesitation.]
[Boldness Experience +3]
Clunk, clunk, clunk!
The lift hurriedly rattled down like a roller coaster without safety harnesses.
Even knowing the instructor would catch her if she fell, her heart raced with fright.
Fear was temporary.
As she wrapped her legs around the grip and hung upside down, she spotted a mob, limping its way toward the cliff in the distance.
Flash!
As if to say, “I see you,” the mob raised a fist in the air, and she responded by giving a grateful wave.
‘If I had known you were so cool, I would have given you a generous reward for my flag.’
Courage fully charged.
With a moment’s hesitation reducing the time deficit, Skola and the lift’s reversal action shooting duel plunged ahead.
Bam bam!
Indeed, Skola displayed terrifying shooting speed with magical arrows.
Phew!
On the other hand, she operated her power shots, loading each arrow with sheer strength.
The targets in the air numbered ten in total.
Considering the speed at which the lift descended, there was only enough time for one shot per target.
The rapid-fire archer only needed to hit one of her three arrows, but as the power shooter, she had no such luxury.
Whoosh!
“This isn’t good.”
The lift swayed in the wind, messing with her aim at the moment she was set to shoot.
Skola too missed all three arrows.
“Don’t panic. If you crumble after just one missed timing, you’ll miss every remaining target.”
In the vertigo of this high-difficulty combat, there were moments where even this lift seemed utterly trivial.
[With steel-like mental fortitude, you quickly corrected your momentary mishap.]
[Mental Power Experience +10]
[Concentration Experience +10]
[Moving Shot Experience +5]
[Aerial Shooting Experience +5]
[In-Air Shooting Experience +5]
Nice!
I hit nine out of ten.
As she thought that while releasing the last arrow, a stray shot came flying from the side and knocked her arrow away.
“What the hell.”
That nasty trickster.
To focus on target shooting in the air was already a challenge; was it even possible to try and pin her down, and worse yet, succeed?
Enraged, she almost put an arrow into the lift rope but reeled back.
‘The mob wouldn’t want that kind of match.’
She threw her bow and quiver into the sand, rolled to the side to land, quickly got up, recovered her gear, and sprinted toward the final finish line.
[Line 1, Course 4 cleared!]
[Line 5, Course 4 cleared! +0:01:57]
Though her time was slightly slower, she stood up from her stance first.
[Course 5]
[Full Dash]
Though her legs trembled and her body ached, she poured her all into the run.
“Ugh!”
Skola’s voice sounded frustrated, as like her body wasn’t cooperating.
Without looking back, she dashed towards her destination.
50m. 10m. One step left until the finish.
[Finish!]
Skola and Oknodie.
The two reached the finish line almost simultaneously.
“Wowww!”
“Both of you are amazing!”
“D—! I was watching from the finish; it was totally cool!”
“Not very assassin-like, but it had its own flair.”
“Ehehe. It seems the landsmen can be impressive sometimes?”
From Arcadia and Jiang to Jigoku as well.
Even fellow students practicing with other weapons gathered to see the highly anticipated match.
Now it was time to announce the results.